You Don't Look Like a Bad Person, Sasuke!

"What about the mission?" Tenten was a bit of a headache. "Should we go in and ask someone?"

"Let's go in and take a look," Shino Aburame said. "There are people inside. I've already sent Kikaichū in to investigate. There are still a few people in the village ruins."

Rock Lee stood upright like a pine tree, hands behind his back, gazing into the distance. At the edge of the low-lying plain lay a vast village. It had been built beside the winding, wide Grass River, but now it was nothing but ruins.

Wisps of white smoke rose from the ruins—a dilapidated house. Occasionally, black dots could be seen moving across the ruins, probably surviving villagers.

As the four approached, they discovered that the village gate had collapsed. The buildings were all in a war-damaged style, covered in dust and broken walls, and the villagers looked pale and sickly.

"This place is a bit eerie. We can't even get a meal?" Naruto put his hands behind his head and looked around nervously.

With a quick sense, I discovered that Hydrangea and Yakumo Kurama had already left. I could only sense a general direction, not their exact location.

That must be quite far away, perhaps not even within the Land of Grass.

He didn't care; the two could go wherever they wanted, and he could always contact them if needed. There was nothing new in the Shinobi World; their strength was enough to take on a small team of Jonin.

"The Land of Grass has taken in too many wandering ninjas, and the uneven quality of them is a hidden danger," Shino Aburame said as she walked ahead.

"So, it was the wandering ninjas who destroyed the Land of Grass?" Tenten asked curiously.

"A riot?"

"Perhaps, but that has nothing to do with us." Shino Aburame stopped and looked up in one direction. "Trouble is brewing."

A rumbling sound came, and Tenten and Rock Lee's expressions immediately changed, becoming wary.

Suddenly, a group of people burst out from the other end of the street, shouting and yelling, carrying all sorts of weapons—swords, spears, and lances—charging forward in a chaotic mob.

But compared to thugs and hooligans, these wandering ninjas were far superior in both combat prowess and cunning. The former were driven by greed and lust, while the latter were far more complex.

The killing is entirely based on their mood; they'll kill anyone they encounter on a narrow path, and they'll kill the weak if they see them. They're called wandering ninjas, but when they put on a mask, they can turn into vicious thieves at any time.

They were adept at robbing caravans, and equally skilled at fighting and stealing Ninjutsu. In the vast Shinobi World, there were always some villains who operated in the gray area.

Such a wicked and ruthless killer should be despised by everyone. Unfortunately, the culture of the Land of Grass is distorted; while others kill without blinking an eye, they even ask if their eyes are dry.

The servile and subservient culture inherent in the history and culture of the Land of Grass led them to spontaneously accept wandering ninjas. They not only welcomed them but also went to great lengths to whitewash their image. The women of the Land of Grass also readily catered to the wandering ninjas; it was a case of willing buyer, willing seller, and nobody could interfere.

"Who are those people? They're dressed so strangely." Naruto was a bit bored and had no interest in putting on a show of bravado or slapping people in the face, so he just went straight for the big, sweeping moves.

Before Tenten and Rock Lee Li could make a move, he activated the Nine-Tails' Chakra within him. Blood-colored Nine-Tails, ten stories tall, suddenly appeared, its aura extremely ferocious.

In an instant, tons of dense, tangible crimson Chakra surged forth, enveloping the four-person team almost instantly. Within a ten-meter radius, a Nine-Tails blood fox rose up.

Roar!!!

One second the wandering ninja was shouting and fighting, the next he was so terrified by the Blood-colored Nine-Tails that he slammed on the brakes and turned tail and ran. What a joke, they're not even in the same power level.

The other side has already brought a Gundam; are we just going to throw our heads at them?

Several wandering ninjas were dragged and trampled in the chaos, and even those with skill were trampled half to death. They screamed incessantly, then were stabbed and died instantly.

Tenten, Rock Lee, Shino stood by, not yet making a move, watching their opponent flee in disarray, utterly dumbfounded. Tenten even looked up at the Blood-colored Nine-Tails, her face turning pale instantly.

Fortunately, Naruto controlled the situation with ease and instantly retracted the Blood-colored Nine-Tails.

Everything returned to calm, with only the figures of the wandering ninjas rushing away in the distance, as if nothing had happened. Naruto glanced lazily at the other side, his boredom palpable.

"These wandering ninjas are no different from flies. The Kusagakure is already rotten to this extent, yet they still stay here to suck blood."

"What was that just now?" Tenten asked, still shaken.

"It's Ninjutsu, similar to Choji's Expansion Jutsu. I figured it out myself." Naruto didn't mention the Nine-Tails' Chakra, just making up a casual excuse.

It wasn't that he didn't trust the three people beside him, but rather that explaining it would be too troublesome. In the later stages of ninja gameplay, it's all about chaotic, unpredictable battles, with giant robots flying all over the world.

Saying too much won't do any good; a little evasion will suffice. Tenten and Rock Lee are both straightforward and won't overthink things, Shino certainly won't suspect his companions.

"That looks amazing!" Rock Lee said with envy, his eager expression making Naruto feel a little awkward.

He thought to himself, "Could this person be thinking of challenging me to a duel? Facing the Blood-colored Nine-Tails phantom, even opening six gates would be suicide. Rock Lee can't possibly open Seventh Gate, can he?"

Fortunately, Rock Lee, the martial arts fanatic, didn't say anything about finding a time to have a fight. Tenten seemed quite happy, at least he didn't have to fight.

Although fighting rogue ninjas is not a problem, it's still quite troublesome in a direct confrontation. These lowlifes have too many underhanded tricks, and ninjas rarely gain much advantage against them.

Just as the four of them relaxed and were chatting and laughing as they prepared to head towards Kusagakure, a hawk entered the sky above the Kusagakure and circled around them.

Upon hearing the sound, Shino Aburame's expression changed; he knew better than anyone the origin of this falcon. The Anbu had very few fast-flying falcons; they were all used for emergency situations.

Right now, one of those hovering over them is an urgent message from the Hokage Building.

"That's... the village's falcon?" Tenten looked up, her expression equally grim.

What good could it possibly do them to broadcast an emergency message at this time? It's either because the village has been attacked, or because the Hokage Building has issued new instructions regarding their mission.

"That bird in the sky?" Naruto looked up, his heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling suddenly welled up inside him.

"Yes." Shino blew a whistle, and the falcon landed on his hand.

A short while later, Shino found a piece of intelligence in his hand. He tore open the note and took a look. His expression changed instantly, and he looked up sharply at Naruto.

But he didn't say anything for a moment, which seemed extremely strange.

"What's wrong?" Rock Lee asked anxiously, scratching his head. "What happened?"

Tenten went straight over and was stunned the moment she saw the contents of the note. After a while, she looked up at Naruto with a strange expression.

Rock Lee became even more anxious; everyone seemed strange.

Before he could even step forward to check, Naruto strode over and took the note from Tenten's hand. A quick glance at it, and his expression immediately turned strange.

Suddenly, Naruto looked up at Rock Lee.

Rock Lee was immediately terrified, his body trembling slightly. He wondered if the note contained news about him. He stammered, his voice dry and hoarse.

"What's wrong?"

Only Rock Lee was unaware of what was happening, Tenten, standing next to Naruto, wanted to laugh but couldn't. She thought to herself that Naruto was truly a scoundrel; the note was clearly about him, yet he deliberately scared Rock Lee.

If it were just ordinary news, Tenten would probably be laughing out loud right now, but...

She glanced slightly at Naruto beside her, a hint of worry in her eyes. This was no ordinary incident; in fact, it was somewhat absurd— Naruto, who had been with them the entire time, had just assassinated the Raikage yesterday.

That's completely impossible. The four of them are together all the time except when they go to the toilet. How could they possibly assassinate the Raikage in that short amount of time?

Besides, what would be the point? It doesn't make any sense. What benefit could one gain from assassinating a village's underworld officer with one's true face?

There is no doubt that the information from the Hokage Building has already been sent over.

"Let me see," Rock Lee, also leaning closer.

He glanced at it and was stunned. It seemed that he wasn't mentioned. Why was it Naruto? After reading it carefully, Rock Lee was also dumbfounded and stood there, somewhat at a loss.

"Naruto has been with us the whole time, how could he possibly have had time to assassinate the Raikage?"

"Damn it, this is framing an innocent person!" Naruto trembled with anger, completely forgetting that he had once framed Sasuke in the same way. "Who's the shameless bastard!"

He was unaware of this matter, but the Yugito Nii gave him a signal yesterday, but unfortunately, the Evil God Contract could not completely transmit the message.

Information can only be conveyed in a conventional way, such as what this means and what that means, simply conveying some useful information.

After all, Naruto has the Gate of Hades, so sometimes all he needs is a coordinate from those he has made a contract with, and he doesn't need to do anything too complicated.

That's why the Yugito Nii didn't know what to say for a moment, so they simply sent Naruto a warning signal instead of sending coordinates.

Naruto glanced at the map and saw that there were no coordinates, so nothing serious had happened.

When he got up, he was shocked to find that he had become an assassin tasked with killing the Raikage. This clumsy method must be a setup. But then again, he couldn't think of anyone other than Sasuke who could pull off such a thing.

By working backward, it's not difficult to figure out the identity of the "fake Naruto".

After all, there aren't many people whose strength is comparable to his own. In reality, Uchiha Sasuke doesn't have as many tricks up his sleeve as Naruto, so he wouldn't have any advantage in a real fight.

Furthermore, he didn't think Sasuke was stupid. After being tricked so many times, Sasuke must have figured out that he was the one behind it all, impersonating Sasuke to cause trouble. There was a high probability that Sasuke would retaliate.

Although the reasoning was logical, Naruto always thought that only shameless people like him would resort to scheming and trickery. But who knew, Sasuke, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, wasn't a good person either!

"What should we do?" Tenten's face looked rather grim. "The Hokage Building's opinion is to terminate the mission, have someone else take over, and have us escort Naruto to Hozuki Castle Prison."

"The person who assassinated the Raikage couldn't have been Naruto, right?!" Rock Lee asked anxiously, standing between Shino and Tenten.

"Of course not, Naruto has been with us the whole time." Shino Aburame said, his hands in his pockets and wearing round sunglasses, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Then why send Naruto to prison? And what kind of place is Hozuki Castle?" Sweat was already beading on Rock Lee's face.

"Hozuki Castle is a prison in the Land of Grass, which is essentially recognized by the Five Great Nations. It is specifically used to house ninjas involved in diplomatic incidents," Tenten said dejectedly.

"There's clearly no evidence for this, right?" Rock Lee asked.

"There is indeed no evidence, but the Hokage Building has made it very clear: detain him first, then submit the evidence," Shino Aburame said. "We have no choice; it's an order."

"This is too much! Naruto didn't do anything, yet he's being sent to prison!" Tenten complained.

The three were still arguing fiercely, Shino Aburame's meaning was clear: this was an order from the Hokage Building. Regardless, a ninja must prioritize the mission.

Rock Lee couldn't understand why he would be imprisoned for something that had no basis in reality. Caught in the middle Tenten, he felt somewhat lost and occasionally glanced at Naruto.

Naruto wasn't in a hurry at all. He didn't argue or panic. Instead, he fell into deep thought.

This opening scene feels familiar: the Raikage is assassinated in Hozuki Castle prison in the Land of Grass? Is this a reference to the movie * Blood Prison *? However, it seems to contradict some details from my memory: the "fake Naruto" was actually Sasuke in disguise. Only the Raikage was assassinated; the other Kage weren't affected. So where is the Hundred-Transformation Sanka who should be impersonating him and committing murder?

If that's the case, doesn't that mean Sasuke actually helped the other side and ended up in Hozuki Castle prison?

"No! We absolutely can't do that! How can we send Naruto to that prison?" Rock Lee shouted.

Shino Aburame remained silent, his brow furrowed. He was the squad leader. The mission orders from the Hokage Building were directly aimed at him, and he had to complete them.

"Stop arguing, haha, we're all comrades!" Tenten forced a smile, trying to mediate. "Um... Shino, I also think it's wrong."

"Nothing's impossible, it's just a short time in jail anyway," Naruto interrupted.

The main character spoke, and all three looked in Naruto's direction. Tenten's face darkened. Forget about mediating the fight, she waved to Naruto, signaling him to be quiet.

She didn't care about anything else, took two steps forward, pulled Naruto over, and whispered something in a low voice.

"Hozuki Castle is a small island in the Land of Grass. Ninjas who enter the castle will have chains inserted into their bodies to lock their Chakra, making them unable to use any Ninjutsu."

"If the charges are cleared, all will be well; once the Heavenly Prison Technique is lifted, they'll be out quickly. But you never know, there's always a chance. This situation is rather strange; no one can say for sure."

Tenten's meaning is quite clear, but who knows if it's intentional? What if he goes in and never comes out? He won't even have the ability to resist; he'll be at the mercy of others.

Naruto knew very well that he didn't know Sage Mode, and entering it would be a near-death experience, but nothing is absolute.